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Information regarding COVID-19

As the situation around community cases of COVID-19 become clear, our primary focus is to support the education community, while helping to keep people safe.

Please find information from NZQA relevant to your circumstances in the links below.

Secondary Schools and students

Please check our overview of the changes to NCEA and University Entrance which have been made for 2021.

You can also download a table outlining these changes (PDF, 273KB).

Students in Auckland, Waikato and Northland are eligible to receive Unexpected Event Grades.

More detailed information about changes to exam and other assessment dates - which apply to all schools and students - is available here.

More detailed information about support for students outside Auckland is available here.

More detailed information about support for students in Auckland is available here.

Students at schools and kura outside of Auckland whose time in Alert Levels 3 or 4 has been compounded by other forms of significant disruption this year outside of the school’s control (such as where students have been unable to go on site due to external health or safety advice or directives) for a total of 20 or more school days in 2021 can also get additional support. More detailed information is available here.

Information for students and whānau about Learning Recognition Credits and changes to thresholds is also available in the following languages:

More information about these changes is available here.

Advice and resources for parents and whānau, teachers and leaders can be found at the Learning from home website and Ki Te Ao Mārama, and useful information for schools and parents is also contained in the Ministry of Education’s Bulletin for School Leaders | He Pitopito Kōrero.

General information about education under each COVID-19 Alert Level can be found on the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

Tertiary providers and students

Updated on 12 October 2021

Extension to programme length

NZQA is committed to supporting all TEOs affected by the cumulative and ongoing Covid-19 Alert Levels. NZQA has become aware of TEOs that want/need to make changes to the length of their programme delivery in order to allow learners to complete their study.

TEOs that want to temporarily extend programme length should contact NZQA to discuss their plans providing the following information:

The title of the programme[s],
approved duration (weeks) for the programme,
extension to programme duration required,
the number of learners affected,
any other relevant information, such as projects/work integrated learning /internships etc.

Please contact us at covid19.enquiries@nzqa.govt.nz.

You should also discuss your plans to extend with StudyLink, TEC or Immigration New Zealand, as appropriate.

Please note that this approach does not apply to programmes of study that lead to registration with a regulatory body, such as Nursing Council New Zealand, the Midwifery Council, the Social Workers Registration Board or the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand; any request to extend these programmes must be discussed jointly with NZQA and the relevant body.

Information for tertiary providers

For providers who do not hold approval for online delivery, NZQA expects that - where appropriate and in the best interests of the learners - providers move to an on-line delivery.

Providers are required to notify NZQA when they are moving to online delivery during COVID-19 restrictions which prevent face-to-face delivery.

Tertiary staff can go on site for the purpose of collating and sending educational resources to their students who are otherwise unable to access resources remotely. This could include undertaking contactless deliveries to those students or arrange for couriers to undertake those deliveries.

A minimum number of staff should be onsite for a minimum amount of time, contact tracing systems must be in place, and physical distancing requirements must be maintained at all times. If there is more than one staff member on site, staff must wear a face covering.

Any tertiary staff undertaking deliveries will be required wear a face covering and keep physically distanced from others (two metres). There must also be no physical contact between staff and the person receiving the educational resources. Students are not permitted to pick-up educational resources from TEOs.

Emergency Funding for International Students

Information relating to PTE Annual fee payments

Inactive PTEs

Update to the 2020 Annual self-review and attestation for Code signatories

Keeping site access records

Information about English language proficiency

Quality Assurance

Private training establishments (PTEs) and student fees

The Ministry of Health continues to monitor the situation with regards to COVID-19. The health of students and staff is a priority and up to date health information is available at COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) guidance – Ministry of Health website.

If you have a particular health concern about a student or staff member, ask the student or staff member to call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (or +64 9 358 5453 for international SIMS).

If you have any questions and enquiries relating to NZQA’s quality assurance activities or the pastoral care of students during this time, please contact us at covid19.enquiries@nzqa.govt.nz. This includes signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice who may have a specific question about applying the Code.

For other information and advice please refer to the Ministry of Education website.

Information for tertiary students and trainees

Students and family members of anyone studying at a tertiary education or training organisation in New Zealand can get information about COVID-19 (Novel coronavirus) from health providers, tertiary education organisations and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).

If you are unwell, please call Healthline's dedicated COVID-19 line (free of charge) on 0800 358 5453 or call your doctor.
You can also contact your local District Health Board.
Please contact your tertiary education organisation directly for information regarding your accommodation, classes and anything relating to your study during this time.
For any other information that your tertiary education provider is unable to help with, please call TEC on 0800 123 797.

International students should contact their insurance provider directly for up-to-date advice on any changes to their cover as a result of COVID-19, consider their options, and take the course of action that is in their best interest.

All tertiary education organisations have been contacted with information about COVID-19 and you can find more information here.